Holly Police Department wishes community happy holidays

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Chief Elena Danishevskaya

Dear Friends,

We are writing you this letter as an entire department to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  This greeting card is a result of our First Annual Holiday Greeting Card Contest where 98 students from Patterson and Holly Elementary Schools participated, and our staff chose the winner.

This year, the winner is Trevor Henke from Patterson Elementary School's fifth grade class.  Trevor and a friend of his choosing will receive a trip to McDonalds, (compliments of Chief).  We hope you enjoy the card, and we thought we would also give you some updates from the police department and include some crime tips to keep you safe during this holiday season.

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Chief Elena Danishevskaya and ...

 
As your Chief of Police, I have established clear goals for our police department.  My number one goal and priority is to keep you and my staff safe and informed about what is going on in the village.  I want to ensure you know what we are doing to keep you safe and give you an opportunity to become involved!!!   

As your Police Department, we want to communicate with you in the best manner to ensure that you receive information from us which is related to emergency situations (timely information can save lives), traffic (blocked streets), events in the village, press releases, community outreach, and information which can impact the safety of you and your family.  There are several ways we are doing this.  

First, is via our website at www.hollypolice.com .   Dispatcher Freda Irish has done a wonderful job in ensuring that up-to-date information is posted there.  Second is via the Chief’s facebook (send a friend request to Elena Danishevskaya) page.  Third is through www.nixle.com.  Nixle allows you to sign up for any important safety, emergency alert/press release information which comes out from the Police Department and so that you can be up-to-date of the activities that the department is engaged in.  You may receive the information as a text message, an email or both.  We are also looking for volunteers who will help us in our reach out to the community.  This will not involve a lot of time, but we encourage anyone with a few free hours per month to contact us. Contact our Dispatch Coordinator Dawn Bott by phone or via email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Also, about four times per year, I will be posting a letter such as this one on our website.  If you would like to receive it directly from us, please send Dawn Bott an email.   

The village should be really proud of the police officers and dispatchers that we have.  They are professional, empathetic, and efficient.  We strive to ensure that our customer service is the best in Oakland County!  On a personal note, I am a hands-on Chief, so often you will see me out and about.  Many times you will see me off duty as well.  I encourage you that when you see me around the village (on duty, or off duty with my little man – my 2 year old bull dog named Six-pack) please stop and say hi.  I really enjoy speaking with our residents and business owners and learning first-hand about your concerns.       

During this holiday season, we want to ensure that you are safe and secure.  Here are some tips to keep you safer from our Investigator Julie Bemus:


-    When storing items purchased at stores in your vehicle, place them out of sight. The best place is a locked trunk. Also, do not store your purse, cellular phone or any other items of value in plain view. This can make your vehicle the target of a break-in! And most importantly of all, LOCK YOUR DOORS!

-    Carry only what you need and avoid carrying large amounts of cash.

-    Criminals may look to steal items in bags from the "fancy stores" so store expensive items in nondescript bags if possible.

-    Park in well-lit areas and be aware of your surroundings. Always have your keys ready before you walk out of a store to your vehicle.

-    Store wallets, cash, credit cards in a front pants pocket or interior coat pocket to avoid becoming the victim of a pick-pocket.

-    Keep your purse with you at all times, and don't leave it in a shopping cart, even for a moment.

-    After the holidays, don't display new purchases by placing the boxes for expensive items at the roadside for garbage pickup. Instead, break down the boxes and place them in a garbage bag for   removal.

A year ago, after being appointed to the Investigator’s position, Investigator Bemus initiated a series of monthly investigator meetings with area investigators.  As a direct result of those meetings and sharing information, several significant cases have been solved.  One of those was a Breaking and Entering ring which went from the village of Holly to Genesee and Lapeer Counties.  Two subjects are currently serving up to 45 years for their crimes.  

This summer, the village was hit hard with thieves who stole property from vehicles.  In almost all cases, those vehicles were left unlocked.  The police department responded aggressively with special details aimed at catching these thieves in action.  In many cases, citizens like you play a huge role in helping us solve crimes.  In one case, a citizen who was aware of the larcenies, called us when he observed a subject attempting to open vehicle doors in a lot.  The suspect was subsequently arrested and charged.  In another case, a parent found items which her son had that did not belong to him and called us to report it.  Many items were found and linked to larcenies in Holly and the surrounding areas.  We applaud and thank the witness and parent who called us about these crimes.

We have an outstanding Dispatch Center.  The dispatcher who coordinates all activities in the Dispatch Center is Dispatcher Bott.  We believe that our Dispatch Center is the best in the County.  We believe this because we have outstanding staff who enjoy talking with our residents and helping solve concerns. We are here for you in times of emergency, and at any other time you need us.  Some of our services include house checks for our residents who will be out of town, welfare checks on handicapped, disabled, or elderly, free lockouts, crime prevention information, free child seat inspections, salvage inspections ($100 fee), firearms registration, garage sale permits, and Operation Medicine Cabinet, a community program for the disposal of unwanted prescription medications.

Our Communication Center has four full-time and three part-time dispatchers. All of them have extensive training which exceeds the Recommended Standards for Public Safety Telecommunications in Michigan. The majority our training funding is provided by the state of Michigan through the Emergency Telephone Service Committee.

Just this month, Holly Dispatch Center underwent a site review by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services or CAAS.  CAAS is an independent commission that established a comprehensive series of standards for the ambulance service industry.  CAAS accreditation signifies that our service has met the "gold standard" determined by the ambulance industry to be essential in a modern emergency medical services provider. These standards often exceed those established by state or local regulation. We are extremely proud of our dispatch center, as this month we expect to receive CAAS Accreditation.  Upon receiving the CAAS Accreditation it means that our Dispatch Center has exceeded the national standards. The Holly PD Dispatch Center will be the 1st Fire Department Dispatch in Michigan to receive this accreditation.   

We want to thank you for your support over the years as we ask for your feedback on ways we can improve our services and our outreach to the community.  We continually look for ways to build relationships within the village and enhance our services to you.  

Sincerely,
Chief Elena Danishevskaya
Holly Police Department